Hi there.

It must be Spring time in Mid Canterbury as we are getting hammered by strong nor’west winds and hoping that some of the blossom stays on the trees long enough to produce some fruit for the coming season!

At the moment we are getting ready for several events that are coming up in the next few months including our stitching retreat in Hanmer Springs, as well as the Christchurch Quilters Show (4-7 October), Golden Bay Quilters exhibition in Collingwood at Labour weekend, and Country Day in Alexandra in November where we will be one of the merchants. Make sure you mark these dates on the calendar and I will see you there!

I do confess to being a fabric collector which is a much kinder word than hoarder ☺ I feel. But this does pave the way for lots of scrap quilts which I like to think of as free! It is a great way to use up the left over pieces from larger projects with machine piecing, foundation, or English paper piecing, strip quilts, snow ball blocks, crazy patch, eye spy or postage stamp quilts. The possibilities are endless.

These pattern and template sets from Jen Kingwell ($8.00 each)are great value and inspiration with lots of different designs to try.

https://www.anniesquilts.co.nz/cms/index.php?option=com_mijoshop&route=product/search&search=postcard%20project

But on the other hand if you can’t face looking at your fabric any longer, the ladies from our Wednesday morning friendship group are always happy to receive donations of patchwork fabric to make charity quilts and reuseable bags. They are also happy to have extra keen helpers for the cutting out, sewing or quilting.

If you would like to have a go at making our own clothes or alter some of your favourite garments and are free on Wednesday evenings, our dressmaking classes with Paula Preece are a great way to learn. Bring your machine or hire a machine from us, book in and give it a go!

In case you missed it, we are taking expressions of interest for the new Block of the Month quilt from Anni Downs from Hatched and Patched called “A day in Happyland”. The fabric and the patterns are on order for this gorgeous quilt, but I am not sure of the pricing yet. A registration of interest does not commit you to the project, but it does mean you will get first option on using the same fabrics as pictured.

In the meantime check out the BOM quilts that are available for posting now.
https://www.anniesquilts.co.nz/cms/shop-online/category/9-block-of-the-month.html
There really is no excuse to be bored!!

Now...onto the recipe. This is one that you can improvise and substitute for what is on hand or in the fridge, and will feed the family, with minimal washing up!

Creamy Chicken Bake

• 5 Chicken breasts or thigh pieces
• 4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 200 g crème fraiche or sour cream
• ¼ c chicken stock
• 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 5 rashers of bacon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh chopped herbs such as chives or parsley to garnish

Preheat the oven to 190C.
Place the chicken and garlic in a deep oven proof dish. Mix together in a bowl the crème fraiche, tarragon, mustard and stock and then pour over the chicken. Scatter over the chopped tomatoes and bacon. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Bake some potatoes or kumara in the oven while the chicken is cooking and serve with a green salad.

Best wishes and happy stitching from the team at Annie’s CQS.
Rachel
03 3076 277
www.anniesquilts.co.nz